Kay Hagan opposes offshore drilling in North Carolina.
At a debate in Atlantic Beach this morning, the Democratic Senate nominee said she would not support lifting a federal moratorium on oil drilling off the coast. Instead, she said she supports investing in renewable energy and biofuels research to address high gas prices.
"We cannot drill ourselves enough oil to solve this problem," she said.
President Bush and Republican presidential nominee John McCain called for lifting the moratorium this week, leading Gov. Mike Easley and Democratic gubernatorial nominee Beverly Perdue to say they opposed the proposal.
At the debate, Sen. Elizabeth Dole repeated what she told a reporter earlier this week, noting that she has opposed drilling in the past but saying that she would carefully look at any new proposal.
In addition, Dole said she would open about one-third of the strategic petroleum reserve to lower gas prices and start a task force to look into the possibility of market fraud by oil companies.
"We've got to produce more (oil) and use less," she said.
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